St.-Lamberti-Kirche

The most special thing about the St.-Lamberti-Kirche at Münster in Westfalen, Germany cannot be found inside – but outside at the tower. There you can see three baskets (not cages) used to transport prisoners. Quite an odd thing for a Catholic church. It was built from the year 1375 CE on in gothic style and is named after Saint Lambert of Maastricht.

The three baskets are a result of the Münster rebellion (or ‘Täuferreich von Münster‘ in German) in the 1530s. Radical anabaptists won the elections in 1534 and introduced reformation in the formerly catholic city. They destroyed catholic artworks and exiled the catholics that declined to be baptized. In 1535 the city was conquered by catholic forces and a blood bath happened.

The three most important persons Jan van Leiden, Bernd Knipperdolling and Bernd Krechting where publicly exhibited, tortured and killed. Their corpses where hung inside the baskets on the outside of the tower of the church to warn disturbed souls and show them what will happen to them if they start another attempt like this. Don’t mess with the catholics.

St.-Lamberti-Kirche
Lambertikirchplatz 1
48143 Münster in Westfalen
Germany

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